Lyrics for Ants Marching as interpreted by kevin

Ants Marching Lyrics
He wakes up in the morning
Does his teeth bite to eat and he's rolling
Never changes a thing
The week ends the week begins
She thinks, we look at each other
Wondering what the other is thinking
But we never say a thing
These crimes between us grow deeper

Goes to visit his mommy
She feeds him well his concerns
He forgets them
And remembers being small
Playing under the table and dreaming

Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die

Driving in on this highway
All these cars and upon the sidewalk
People in every direction
No words exchanged
No time to exchange

And all the little ants are marching
Red and black antennas waving
They all do it the same
They all do it the same way

Candyman tempting the thoughts of a
Sweet tooth tortured by the weight loss
Program cutting the corners
Loose end, loose end, cut, cut
On the fence, could not to offend
Cut, cut, cut, cut

Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die

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  • 79 Comments
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antifox64
11-24-2001

Rated 0 
A song merely about how each day we all live our lives like ants. We do the same thing everyday without really thinking about why and for whom we are doing it for. no complaints. just doing what we have to do.

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TK_17
01-09-2002

Rated 0 
I agree with antifox64, this song is about how we go about our lives without thinking of why we are doing things. I think Dave is also trying to say that we should take more time to tell those that we love that we do indeed love them.

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GLEZ1000
01-26-2002

Rated 0 
The first part means that we get used to the same routine everyday and we never change and lead uneventful lives. Then that we never tell the people that mean something to us what they mean to us and its a "crime" because we dont. The "Goes to visit his mommy" is about how we hear our parents but we never listen and take their advice to heart. "Being small" part is about how we think we had it better before and waste our time doin that. "Take these chances" is about how we always have these things we truly want to do but we never do it cuz its never the right time so we wait and end up never doin it. the "highway" part is how life goes so fast that we never take the time to get to know new people or get to know the ones we already know better. Then we are compared to ants, just mindless drones doin what we doin the same thing over and over and not changin our mistakes or tryin to make our lives better. the "candyman" part im not too sure about but i think he sayin that we need to not worry about life and just have fun.

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1 Reply
rubberneck_26
05-02-2002

Rated -1 
This song makes me think of chocolate milk. YUMMY! Caue the first time I heard it, it was at this dudes house and he has a really Hot mom!

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daveandjackrule
05-02-2002

Rated 0 
antifox hits it to a point, that is exactly what it means, and even though we all would love to live our lives freely, most of us live it by rule and order, unfortunatley.

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heybaby143
05-03-2002

Rated 0 
GLEZ1000..you are soo right...and this is a great song...last summer i went to a dmb concert and the whole show he didnt play ants marching..but after they ended the show...they came out and did it as an encore and it was, i think, the best song he played that night..the crowd was going completely crazy..these guys that were sittin next to me were about to leave until they heard the intro..and everyone just went nuts!!!i couldnt here myself think it was awesome!!! that really doesnt have anything to do with the meaning of the song but i thought i'd share lol we're all dave lovers here right??? lol :P

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MrMojoRisin5552
05-03-2002

Rated 0 
I agree with you guys totally. We spend our whole lives like ants, going to work coming home, and going to work. Theres no difference between when the week ends and begins. People should learn from this song, that there are more important things in life than your job. You should have fun and enjoy life and let those you love know it rather than being a monotonous ant.

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SgtPepperLHCB
05-18-2002

Rated 0 
I love this song. It's just easy to listen to and get stuck in your head. The acoustic version is also very good. My favorite is the Live At Red Rocks version with the long instrumental.

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dmb07
05-19-2002

Rated 0 
this song is about the daily grind that we all go through day after day after day. How boring it is and how repetitive it is. Its easy listening and fun to listen to.

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rockkid
05-24-2002

Rated 0 
i think GLEZ1000 i totally right...! great song

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GLEZ1000
05-24-2002

Rated 0 
Thanx for agreein with me guys. This one is my favorite song by far. I especially like the Acoustic version and the Red Rocks version. The Red Rocks makes me tingle when i pump up the volume and Dave lets the crowd sing. It so F***ing awesome!!

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traceyanne
05-30-2002

Rated 0 
"people in every direction"; why can't people talk to each other; i know we're all busy, but is it too much to just say hi; i don't know, i just dave brings out the "good person" in me for some reason

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gregoe
06-04-2002

Rated 0 
I like the Remember 2 Things version. The violin solos are inspired by Dueling Banjos, it's crazy! This song really puts me in a good mood.

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Outsider
06-10-2002

Rated 0 
This song has a great opening to it. It is very entertaining. Wonderful beat to it.

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Kahok@heart10
06-28-2002

Rated 0 
This song represents perfect symbolism between our lives and that of ants. Only Dave could think of something like this to write. The beginning of this song has the best beat ever!!!

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thinkitbeit
07-06-2002

Rated 0 
I remember the first time I heard it I thought it was some new remix of "Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. You never make that mistake twice! Anyway, I really love this. How true it is too....ants....just follow the path and don't take chances. I know I'm an ant...working on it tho.

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SweetestSiren
07-16-2002

Rated 0 
Again, a great Dave Matthews Band song... awesome message.... how people go through routine and get so used to it that they forget to take chances, and before they know if they've wasted their whole lives waiting ("Take these chances / Place them in a box until a quieter time / lights down, you up and die"). I like the verse about driving along the highway, the "people in every direction / no words exchanged / no time to exchange".... it's sad that people don't care enough to acknowledge others, or really know what to say. The ant analogy is good, too. My favorite part of the song is where it gets faster and does the "Candyman tempting the thoughts of a sweet tooth... etc" part. I like to rewind it and listen to that part again.

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LittleGreen
07-24-2002

Rated 0 
Break the mold a little, take some chances before you run out of time....

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RoBBaN4TrU
08-07-2002

Rated 0 
I agree with those who said it was about how we all lead our lives as ants everyday, doing the same thing, not thinking anything of it. We don't take the chances we are given. We place them in a box until it is too late.

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anna118k
08-10-2002

Rated 0 
I usually tend to think that songs by Dave that became famous, are his not-so-great ones.... except for this song.. This one's awesome.

As for the meaning of this song.. I agree with most of what's been said up here.

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joesgay
08-22-2002

Rated 0 
this is my favorite dave mathews song...and definetly one of my all time favorites...i really do love it

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rockinangel26
08-27-2002

Rated 0 
I saw an interview w/Dave Matthews on tv and he told what inspired him to write this song. He was on a safari in africa and his friend showed him this tree. The tree only had one purpose, and that was to feed these ants. And all the different types of ants marched along the tree feeding off the sap. And if any other bug tried to get on the tree, the ants would kill it. Thats not really what the song is about, but its what inspired Dave to write it. I just thought that was kinda interesting...

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little_star34
09-26-2002

Rated 0 
I have to write a paper about this song and I was wondering if anyone could help me. I got the basic idea but if you have any good interpretations or ideas, it would be great if you could help me out. Or if there is a website or something that has info about the song, or an interview with dave, I would appreciate it! Thanks!!
BTW, this song is awesome!! :)

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sweetsherocks
10-14-2002

Rated 0 
This reminds me of a time in my AP Euro class... We were having a lesson on music of the Renaissance, and my teacher (one of the coolest guys in the world) played this song as one to compare Renaissance music to modern music. That was everyone's favorite moment in the class. And it was even better when my teacher said that "Dave Matthews is the Beethoven of today. And if you don't think so, there is something wrong with you." I thought that was so great, and so true.

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UNCWDMBfan
03-12-2003

Rated 0 
Remember Two Things Version is better than Under the Table...Dave talks about the Ants on Storytellers....Don't know much about the song, but the jamout on Folsom Field is awesome

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